When imagination is used, it can turn people who are just looking around into buyers. Think of the front of your store as a fresh canvas that needs color, movement, and some jazz hands. Put retail storefront promotions on that glass. Don’t use boring logos and work hours just to fit in with everyone else. Add funny sayings, silly pictures, fake window cracks, or moving holiday scenes. Every week, different jokes are put on the glass at some shops. The sight makes people stop, laugh, take pictures, and even step in.
Feel free to engage. Have you ever tried a chalkboard on the ground with a puzzle every day? You write, “Solve this for a discount,” and all of a sudden, a crowd forms. Playing is fun for everyone. The old-school poem board with magnets on the outside wall? Who wouldn’t want to write a poem about their bookstore or coffee shop? Sticky notes were used in one restaurant to let customers choose the soup for tomorrow. It costs little. It seems very real.
Light works like magic. People will notice your frame from a mile away at night or during the day if it has neon forms or moving LED strips around it. On a dull Tuesday, hang up some fairy lights or colored candles. They let you know it’s warm when it’s cold outside. Like moths, people move toward sparkle.
Have you ever walked around a block with your nose pressed against cool glass and been pulled in by a motion-activated pop-up window? A mannequin spins, a train chugs along a toy track, or a dance ball just starts moving when someone walks by. Pay attention quickly and remember it like a wallet is taken out of a bag.
There are times when it’s about the senses. Place a soft-smelling machine outside your shop so that the smell of apple pie fills the air. If that doesn’t work for your shop, put a small speaker behind the plant ferns and play jazz or ocean waves.
Muralists and window artists in the area want the whole world to be their gallery. Join forces for a show that will change. One month there was a sunflower boom, and the next there were alien abductions. Artists get points, and people will come back to see more when they know there’s something new to see.
Need a “what the heck?” look from the street? Put a fake copy of a famous person near your door. People will take pictures with cardboard Kumail Nanjiani and then look through your aisles. It’s silly, but it breaks down the wall between the shop and the visitor.
You can still use the path. Use floor decals that say “almost there!” or “free wifi inside—recharge your dead battery!” or paint fun tracks that lead to your door. Strange details make people laugh.
Also, don’t forget how powerful a “free sample” station just outside the barrier can be. Small bits, sips, or samples of lotion or perfume. People try, then stay. People who linger become buyers.
There is no magic recipe. The key? Surprise, pleasure, and a little wit. Try it out. Not just signs, storefronts are open invites to the public. People on the street will come inside hungry for more if you give them a taste.